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Inside the Murdoch empire

Rupert Murdoch

Founder, chairman and chief executive.

Rupert Murdoch has seen his previously unassailable position as News Corp CEO severely undermined by the fallout from the phone-hacking scandal. The perceived failure of senior News Corp executives to deal with the crisis effectively caused share prices to fall, wiping around $6bn in value from company stocks. A series of other issues in recent years, including a massive $2.8bn loss accrued over the purchase and later write down in value of Dow Jones, and the $615m purchase of daughter Elisabeth's media company, have also put Murdoch's management of the conglomerate in the spotlight. Murdoch, now 80, has long wished to see power pass on to his son James, however this aspiration has been challenged by recent events with reports that some independent directors and shareholders would prefer to see a non-Murdoch running NewsCorp - and sooner rather than later. Read full profile

James Murdoch

Younger son and heir apparent.

Rupert Murdoch's youngest son by his second marriage, James Murdoch's handling of the hacking scandal has been heavily criticised, particularly his authorisation of £1m payouts to phone hacking victims apparently without full knowledge of the extent of criminal activity at the News Of The World. His admission that the company had made statements to Parliament "without being in full possession of the facts" is reported to have caused further alarm to the board and shareholders. James's position as heir apparent, and his roles at News International and BskyB, have all come into question in the last week.

Lachlan Murdoch

Elder son, sidelined in 2005.

The eldest of Murdoch's children by his second wife, Lachlan was once tipped as a future CEO, but fell out of favour after his involvement with the ill-fated Australian telecommunications company One Tel, which went bankrupt in 2001, losing News Corp millions of dollars. He resigned his executive posts in 2005, but remained on the board.

Andrew Siskind

Senior Adviser to the Chairman.

Advisor and long time confidant to Rupert Murdoch.

Joel Klein

Leading internal News Corp investigation into hacking.

Formerly in charge of New York's Schools system, lawyer Joel Klein was recruited to the News Corp board in November 2011 to run a new education division. He has been tasked with leading News Corp's internal investigation into the phone-hacking scandal.

Viet Dinh

Supervising internal crisis committee. Independent board member.

Viet Dinh was formerly President George W Bush's deputy attorney general, and chief writer of the US Patriot Act of 2001. He is reported to be at the forefront of calls from independent News Corp directors for discussion over the direction and leadership of the company amid the fallout from the hacking scandal. He is also involved with the company's own internal investigation into the crisis, being led by Joel Klein.

Stanley Shuman

Managing Director, Allen and Company LLC.

Executive of law firm Allen & Overy, serves only as a titular "director emeritus". Independent.

John Thornton

Professor and Director of Global Leadership Tsinghua University of Beijing.

Ex-president of Goldman Sachs. Independent.

Thomas Perkins

Partner Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers.

Venture capitalist who resigned from Hewlett Packard board after accusing its chairwoman of spying in 2006. Independent.

Andrew Knight

Director, Rothschild Investment Trust CP

Journalist and editor who forged his reputation as editor of the Economist in the 1970s before leading a takeover of the ailing Daily Telegraph in 1985 and turning the paper round. He joined News International as Chairman in 1990 and the board of News Corporation a year later, but stepped down from his executive post in 1994 after a skiing accident. Remains an independent board member.

Sir Rod Eddington

Australian, former British Airways boss. Independent

Leader of the nine independent directors on the News Corp board, Sir Rod Eddington is most widely known in the UK as former CEO of British Airways. Eddington joined the News Corp board in 1999 after the company took over the Ansett Australia airline, which he was CEO of at the time. He currently chairs News Corp's audit committee, but in 2010 it was reported that some shareholders opposed his re-election to the board in protest at Rupert Murdoch's donation of $2m to the Republican party.

Jose Maria Aznar

President, Foundation for Social Studies and Analysis, Foundation for Advance Education in the Sciences.

Former conservative Spanish Prime Minister, joined the News Corp board in 2006. Independent.

Kenneth Cowley

Chairman, RM Williams Holdings Pty Ltd.

Long-time director and chairman of an Australian clothes firm. Independent.

Peter Barnes

Chairman, Ansell Limited.

Australian ex-president of cigarette-maker Philip Morris in Asia. Independent.

Chase Carey

Day-to-day manager touted as possible successor

Tipped as a possible replacement to Rupert Murdoch as CEO, Carey has served as News Corps Chief Operating Officer since 2009 after fulfilling similar roles at Fox News. Carey is also credited with turning round the fortunes of struggling US satellite TV company DirecTV in his tenure as CEO there from 2003-2009. His lack of connection to the phone hacking scandal and apparent support of the independent directors suggest he would be well placed should Rupert Murdoch stand down.

Natalie Bancroft

Director

Joined when Dow Jones, controlled by the Bancroft family, was bought in 2007. Dow Jones also owned the Wall Street Journal.

David Devoe

Chief Financial Officer

Legal head and long-time News Corp employee.

Alwaleed Bin Talal

Saudi magnate and largest non-Murdoch shareholder.

Purported to be the Arab world's richest man and described by some as "the Arab Warren Buffett", Alwaleed Bin Talal played a key role in the departure of News International CEO Rebekah Brooks when he told the BBC he could not deal with a company "that has a lady with any sliver of doubts on her integrity." He has subsequently backed the Murdochs to remain in their positions as News Corp chiefs. The Prince, who has an estimated fortune of around $20bn, is seen as a moderniser, advocating women's rights and political reform in Saudi Arabia.

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